For those of us born earlier than the 80s, how amazing is it that email has become our central mode of communication these days? Back in the 90's, before the internet boom, we carried out business by phone (or if you needed a paper record, by fax!). Inter-office memos were conducted by walking to your team member's desk and actually talking to them.
In sending out 25, 30 or 50 emails a day it stands to reason that you are going to get a similar amount of replies… some days, I feel like 90% of my day is spent sending or answering emails. Unfortunately some things can get misconstrued, and there is no tone in email (I have learnt to use email to communicate facts, not emotions) so sometimes a simple email can become bigger than Ben Hur.
So, how do you ensure you don't miss anything important (or urgent), as well as being able to continue on with the rest of your workload? If you are anything like me, having more than a screen of emails ends in heart palpitations. Here are a few tips to help you keep track of the important stuff, filter out the fluff and still be productive.
Process your mail once a day … it's fine to check in every now and again to ensure you haven't missed something that requires urgent attention, but leave the others to work through and file all at once.
Utilise your folders … having "Do today", "Do by Wednesday" and "Do by Friday" folders is a great way to relieve some pressure. Once emails come in, move them to the appropriate folder and deal with them when the time comes (if need be, add a "Do by Month End" as well).
Read what is relevant … A while back, I "unsubscribed" to a whole load of newsletters and now only have ones coming in that I know I will read at some point. If you want to keep these informative emails, but know you don't ever actually have to DO anything with them, set up a rule for each and have them pop into a newsletter folder - then you can read them at your leisure.
Use the "1 minute rule"….if the reply and/or action is going to take a minute or less, do it then and there, then file the email away. Remember, not every email you receive needs a reply!
Here's the big one - Send fewer emails! … Imagine this scenario:
You (sent 10.00 am): How about we meet on Monday?
Them (received 10.47 am): Sure, how about 2pm?
You (sent 11.00 am): 2pm doesn't work for me - can you do 10am?
Them (received 11.23 am): No, it will have to be Tuesday then
and so on, and so on, and so on…
How revolutionary would it be to have picked up the phone and asked the question in a five minute conversation (allowing time for polite chit-chat)?!
The easiest way to ensure that email doesn't take control is to not use it as your default for communication. If you aren't great on the phone, then there are a number of free tools for instant messaging (like Skype). This will allow you to carry out conversations without filling up your inbox.
Do you have any inbox tips?